EP 0 727 135 A discloses a combine, for which in a straw swath mode the straw is deposited on the ground in a swath by straw walkers through a guide plate or in a chopping mode the straw is fed to a straw chopper, in which it is chopped and distributed over the field. The guide plate can be brought into a third position, in which both the straw and also the chaff is guided through the straw chopper. The chaff is fed from the cleaning device into the straw chopper by fans.
WO 01/01754 A discloses a combine with a straw chopper and a chaff distributor. The chaff distributor is arranged such that it can inject the chaff into the straw stream upstream of the straw chopper, so that it continues together with the straw to the straw chopper and is distributed across the field over approximately the operating width of the cutting means.
In DE 100 64 356 A, it is proposed to always guide the chaff through the straw chopper, while the straw is either guided through the straw chopper in the chopping mode or is deflected around to its rear side in the swath deposition mode and deposited in a swath on the ground. In swath deposition mode, the straw guide plate is brought into a position, in which the chaff is distributed on both sides of the swath over the operating width. In long stalked straw deposition mode, the chaff and straw are distributed over the operating width of the field. In the latter, the chaff is to be transported by the fans of the cleaning device and the suction effect of the straw chopper.
Similar arrangements are also known from the brochures “Deutz Fahr Topliner 8XL,” notation 91 532 01 Printed in Germany 9906, “Case IH Cross Flow,” notation CF80 D BR October 1999, and New Holland CX combine, notation Printed in Italy Jan. 2009 September Satiz SrI (Turin) Cod. N. 12003/BR/D00. There, the straw is either fed through the straw chopper, chopped, and distributed over the operating width, or deflected around to its rear side and deposited on the field in a swath. The chaff is fed into the straw chopper by chaff distributor fans (Deutz Fahr), impeller blower chaff distributors (Case IH) or hydraulically driven radial fans (New Holland). Because the straw chopper also operates in the swath deposition mode, the chaff is distributed over the operating width and the straw can be harvested without chaff portions.
The embodiments proposed by WO 01/01754 A allow a plurality of operating modes through the use of a separate chaff distributor. However, the chaff distributor is relatively costly and complicated. For the embodiments according to EP 0 727 135 A, DE 100 64 356 A, and the mentioned brochures, the chaff distributor can be eliminated, because the straw chopper takes over its task. However, for the embodiment according to DE 100 64 356 A, difficulties in the transport of the chaff are to be expected because it is fed into the straw chopper exclusively by the fans of the cleaning device and the suction effect of the straw chopper. The embodiments proposed in the brochures and in EP 0 727 135 A use fans for feeding the chaff, which usually exhibit rather low efficiency.
In DE 44 31 802 A it is proposed to feed the chaff through a back and forth moving inlet base of a horizontal conveyor screw, which feeds it together with the straw to one or two straw choppers with vertical rotational axes. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,405 A, a conveyor belt is used for feeding the chaff from the cleaning device into a straw chopper with a horizontal rotational axis that is perpendicular to the forward direction. For the two publications mentioned last, no ability is disclosed for depositing the straw in a swath. Thus, the chaff is always distributed over the entire cutting width.
In EP 0 958 727 A it is proposed to feed straw discharged from the cleaning device outwards through a cross auger first perpendicular to the forward direction. There results, on both sides of the combine, two partial streams, which are conveyed backwards by additional conveyor screws and fed in the axial direction to a straw chopper with a horizontal rotational axis perpendicular to the forward direction. However, it is considered to be a disadvantage that the already present speed of the chaff due to the axial feeding to the straw chopper is lost during the output through the screw conveyor, so that the chaff is transported just by the straw chopper. Thus, the range and the width of the chaff is rather small.
According to the published DE 102 56 744 A, the chaff is led from the cleaning device to the inlet of the straw chopper by an oscillating base. In the swath deposition mode, in which the straw is guided around to the rear side of the straw chopper so that it is deposited on the ground unchopped, in order for the chaff to be deposited to the side next to the straw swath, the straw guide plate is adjusted correspondingly, similar to DE 100 64 356 A.